What is the evidence for evolution
"What is the evidence for evolution?"
When Darwin first introduced the idea of evolution through natural selection in his on the Origin of species (1859), he faced extensive doubt surrounding his ideas. This was mainly due to the fact that he did not have a substantial amount of knowledge on the idea of inheritance. Fast forward to the twentieth century when natural selection was explained through the use of Mendelian theories, the knowledge of genetics was finally beginning to form evidence for the evolutionary theory and therefore, has paved the way to modern evidence to support this theory. In this essay I will explain the basis of the modern evidence to support evolution. However, in order to do this I must first explain what evolution really is; Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organism are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth, (Oxford Dictionary).
One piece of modern evidence used to support the idea of evolution is through fossil evidence. With today’s extensive fossil record, it can give us an idea of how a species has come about transforming from one species to another. In a sense, the evidence from fossil records are one of a kind for the fact it can indicate a time perspective for the evolution of species on earth and the origin of new physical features between one species and another. Although it can be said that in some areas the fossil evidence is unclear, it can still give us an understanding the transition of life on earth over time. Through the use of fossils, it allows us to research species that have become extinct and compare them to species that are similar of the present day. This means that it is possible to hypothesise relationships between two species of different times and show the evolutionary paths.
One way fossils are evidence through the example of the evolution of tetrapod’s (vertebrae animals with legs) from fish. Fossil records showed us that Acanthostega had
When Darwin first introduced the idea of evolution through natural selection in his on the Origin of species (1859), he faced extensive doubt surrounding his ideas. This was mainly due to the fact that he did not have a substantial amount of knowledge on the idea of inheritance. Fast forward to the twentieth century when natural selection was explained through the use of Mendelian theories, the knowledge of genetics was finally beginning to form evidence for the evolutionary theory and therefore, has paved the way to modern evidence to support this theory. In this essay I will explain the basis of the modern evidence to support evolution. However, in order to do this I must first explain what evolution really is; Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organism are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth, (Oxford Dictionary).
One piece of modern evidence used to support the idea of evolution is through fossil evidence. With today’s extensive fossil record, it can give us an idea of how a species has come about transforming from one species to another. In a sense, the evidence from fossil records are one of a kind for the fact it can indicate a time perspective for the evolution of species on earth and the origin of new physical features between one species and another. Although it can be said that in some areas the fossil evidence is unclear, it can still give us an understanding the transition of life on earth over time. Through the use of fossils, it allows us to research species that have become extinct and compare them to species that are similar of the present day. This means that it is possible to hypothesise relationships between two species of different times and show the evolutionary paths.
One way fossils are evidence through the example of the evolution of tetrapod’s (vertebrae animals with legs) from fish. Fossil records showed us that Acanthostega had
References: Alters BJ, Alters SM. Defending evolution. A guide to the creation/evolution controversy. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett; 2001 Edey, Maitland A. and Donald C. Johanson. Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution. Viking, 1990. Dobzhansky, Theodosius. Evolution of Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1960. . "Scientific American." In Duncan 1978, 40. Tattersall, Ian. The Fossil Trail: How We Know What We Think We Know About Human Evolution. Oxford Univ. Press, 1995. uo, Zhe-xi ; Ruf, Irina ; Schultz, Julia A. ; Martin, Thomas Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2011, Vol.278(1702), pp.28-34 http://evolution.about.com/od/evidence/tp/Anatomical-Evidence-For-Evolution.htm, date accessed 13/10/13 https://www.boundless.com/biology/introduction-to-evolution/evidence-of-evolution/evidence-of-evolution-homology/, date accessed 13/10/13